London, Nov 6 — Velavan Senthilkumar has advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Open squash, a USD 18,000 PSA Challenger event, where he is second seed.
The Indian world No. 42 defeated Paraguay’s world No 124 Francesco Marcantonio 11-5, 11-7, 14-12 in the second round on Thursday following a first-round bye.
Senthilkumar, who has won two PSA Copper-level tournaments this year, will play French world No 99 Amir Khaled-Jousselin next.
Meanwhile, Indian world No. 167 Ayaan Vaziralli lost to higher-ranked Ben Smith in the opening round, the Englishman recovering to win 6-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7.
Last week Senthilkumar added another significant title to his growing collection, defeating top seed Greg Lobban of Scotland in the final to emerge champion at the USD 35,000 Czech Open, a PSA Copper-level tournament.
The Czech Open triumph adds to what has been an encouraging period for the Indian, who also enjoyed a productive campaign at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. He returned with two bronze medals, finishing on the podium in the mixed team competition alongside Joshna Chinappa and as part of the Indian men’s team.
The men’s team's campaign ended in the semifinals following a 2-1 defeat to Malaysia.
Senthilkumar had previously broken new ground at the Budapest Open in August, where he defeated Hungary’s Balazs Farkas in the final to claim his first PSA Copper-level crown. His latest success underlines his growing consistency on the PSA Tour as he builds towards the sport’s Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.